Tilt
by FaeQueenInu
Summary: Balancing work and your social life is hard enough: throw in super hero clients plus a super villain girlfriend, and life just sends your stress levels into a whole new bracket. And here Darcy was hoping that her life would become just a little more normal... (Avengers AU, Darcy/Lady Loki)


**Author's Note:** What is wrong with me and why can I not stop starting new fics? But I just had to throw in some Lady Loki action... I'm surprised I haven't found a Darcy/Lady Loki fic yet. Let me know if y'all know of any!

* * *

Heels clicking across the concrete, the young woman clad in a simple set of slacks and white button up dress shirt expertly wove amongst the crowd. Her eyes glanced up on occasion to ensure that she did not collide with any innocent pedestrians, but for the most part, she kept her eyes glued to her phone, scrolling through the news reports while clutching a stack of files close with her other arm.

"This was supposed to be an easy job…" she muttered to herself, reading up on the latest incident with a frown. "I should have known better- _AH!_"

Having collided face first into some obstacle, Darcy had the split second choice of dropping her phone and files to catch her balance or falling backwards on her ass. Unfortunately for her, her brain often made poor decisions, and she soon found herself sprawled back on the concrete, with an aching bum and a bonus of whacking her skull on the ground.

"Oww…" Squeezing her eyes shut in pain, she silently cursed herself for her clumsy ways. She had never been the most graceful of girls, but she would have appreciated just an ounce of coordination when whatever deity created the trainwreck that was her.

A soft hand brushing across her cheek brought her sharply to reality. "Are you alright, my dear?"

The smooth, feminine voice caused her eyes to snap open, and she stared blankly at what was likely the most gorgeous woman she had ever met leaning over her face. Long raven colored waves of hair framed the heart shaped face with sharp cheekbones and full lips which were painted a dark red. And staring directly at her were the most brilliantly emerald colored eyes, ones which danced between concern and amusement towards her.

The young woman could practically hear her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

Her brain was still spinning from hitting her head on the ground, and despite the fact that she had wanted to say 'I'm fine', she instead found herself saying, "You're _gorgeous_…" Sputtering over what she just said, she attempted to push herself up off the concrete while straightening er glasses. "I am _so _sorry, I just- my brain- and you were so pretty and _I'm doing it again_."

Concern flickered away and amusement took over the emerald eyes as the woman kneeling next to her smirked down at her. Placing a hand firmly on her shoulder, the woman, who's accent was vaguely british but with some old fashioned tinge to it, remarked, "I appreciate the compliment, though please, do not get up so quickly." The woman's hand moved to brush across the back of the younger woman's scalp. "You had a nasty fall…"

"I've had worse," she managed with a half hearted laugh. Crowds of people continued on around them, all sparing glances but none stopping to check on the pair. Typical rush hour New York. "If you could just help me up, Miss?..."

The woman rose up, towering over the younger woman in a pair of tall heels. She noticed how the woman was clad in an expensive looking ebony skirt suit that tapered in on her generous curves, decked out in layered gold jewelry on her wrists and neck. Grasping her hand, the woman smoothly replied, "Lori. Lori Friggadóttir."

She blinked as 'Lori' pulled her to her feet. "Oh, wow, um… please forgive me, because I'm probably going to get your last name wrong."

As she steadied the young woman onto her feet, Lori wrapped an arm around her while waving off her concerns with her free hand. "Do not concern yourself: the name is old Norse." Her free hand settled on the girl's shoulder as she pulled her closer. "But tell me, my dear, what would your name be?"

"My… name?..." Blushing heavily at the close contact, she hugged her phone and files close. "Umm, Darcy. It's Darcy Lewis."

"Darcy Lewis…" The woman purred, a coy smile on her lips as she guided Darcy out of the pathway and out of the flow of foot traffic. "What a lovely name…" Reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind Darcy's ear, she asked softly, "How's the head?"

"Mild throbbing, but no spots in my vision, so I think I'll be able to walk away with just a bruise," she quipped in an attempted light hearted tone. Slowly comprehending how close Lori was to her, she felt her cheeks begin to warm.

Noticing the reddening of Darcy's cheeks, Lori held a mischievous edge to her eyes as she leaned her face closer. "Miss Lewis, do I make you nervous?"

Her breath hitched, and Darcy replied quickly in a slightly higher voice. "No! Nope, not at all…" Suddenly, a light seemed to go off in her head. Jumping, her eyes went wide as she declared. "Shoot! I'm going to be late!"

She started to pull away but then stopped to turn to Lori. Struggling to find the words, she stared up at the taller woman, her eyes searching the woman to see if she understood what she was trying to say.

Smiling softly down at her, Lori asked, "Would you be interested in going to dinner sometime soon?"

Clearing her throat, she asked, "As… as a date, right?"

"But of course… unless I was reading the air wrong?"

"Definitely not!" she interjected quickly. "I mean, you aren't reading it wrong, I think… I just-" Sighly heavily and hanging her head, she just blurted out, "I'm attracted to you, and I swear I'm usually better at flirting."

Laughing warmly, Lori reached into her jacket to pull out a pen and a little notebook. "Let's just blame the bump to the head, shall we?" Scribbling down on a sheet, she ripped it out of the book before handing it to her. "My number."

Darcy took the offered sheet, staring down at the scribbled numbers with a goofy grin. Shaking her head, she asked, "Did you want my number?"

"Yes, please," Lori replied, pen at the ready to jot down the numbers seeing as how Darcy's hands were full. Once numbers were finished exchanging, she added, "If you would not mind sending me a message tonight: just to ensure that the bump on your head is not worse."

"Oh! Of course," Darcy replied, heart warming at the concern Lori showed. "It might be a bit late depending on how things are at the… _office_... but I will text you as soon as I can!"

"Good, I will hold you to it. Then we can discuss details about dinner."

"I look forward to it."

* * *

The door slammed open, and she shouted, "I'm sorry I'm late!"

The two occupants of the room turned to stare wide eyed at the scattered young woman who moved to flop down in the only empty chair at the meeting table. Darcy dropped her files on the table, sorting through them and pulling out the ones she wanted the most, before turning to her messenger bag to pull out her laptop, ignoring the eyes still staring at her.

A woman with hardened eyes sat across the table, her mouth twisted into a tight frown. "Young lady." Darcy didn't reply, busy booting up her laptop and open a new page for notetaking. "Ma'am." Still no response. Slamming a hand down on the table, the woman demanded, "_Ma'am_."

Darcy's head whipped up. "Were you talking to me?"

Eyes narrowing, the woman barked out, "What are you doing here?"

"Uhh… I don't know?" Turning her attention to the smirking man next to her, she asked, "Hey Bossman, want to tell me why you texted me and asked me to come here?"

Grinning, he smoothly replied, "SHIELD here wanted to meet my PR representative."

Eyes widening, Darcy shouted, "What the hell, Tony?! You don't just spring a government agency on me!" Burying her face in her hands, she groaned, "Exactly how deep did you bury us this time?"

"I didn't do anything wrong!" he insisted. After a pause, he added, "This time at least." Seeing her glare, he quickly moved to explain. "This is SHIELD Assistant Director Maria Hill: she and SHIELD asked to speak to whoever ran my PR: they have a proposal for you."

"Hold on, Stark," the woman with the hard eyes interjected. "Is this a joke? She can't be qualified for this."

"You wanted to negotiate with my PR representative. She has run my PR for the past year," he insisted.

"...even the Maui incident?"

"_Especially_ the Maui incident."

"Excuse me!" All eyes turned to the tiny brunette, who glowered at the pair. "Are either of you going to explain what's going on?"

Leaning back in his chair, Stark elaborated. "How do you feel about having your job expanded?"

"Hell no."

He looked caught off guard. "Wait, you didn't even hear the proposal-"

"Stark, doing PR for you is already the most stressful thing I have ever done, and I was shot at by a rampaging alien robot in the middle of the desert after babysitting a powerless god for three days."

"...okay, harsh, but still-"

"No."

"But what if-"

"_No._"

"I'll double your pay!"

"_NO_\- wait say that again?"

Grinning triumphantly, Stark added, "_And_ the job comes with a free apartment and other benefits that can be expanded upon as we go."

Eyes growing wide, she quietly mumbled, "...exactly what kind of job is this?"

"The same type of job that you have now," he quipped happily. "Just with more clients."

Hesitantly, Hill picked up a stack of files and slid them across the table. "How do you feel about taking on the Avengers?"

* * *

Flopping down on her bed, she stared up at the ceiling, trying to process the day she had. After the offer had been made, it just turned into a tedious bout of negotiations, with Darcy trying to pull more information out of Hill while Stark simply provided unnecessary interruptions.

In the end, Darcy called the meeting to a close, saying they can resume later with all the Avengers present so that she can get a gist of what she was getting herself into. Hill agreed, and set about scheduling a meeting for later in the week. Stark then chimed in with a promise to have professional movers at her apartment first thing tomorrow to move her into her new apartment.

An apartment that happened to be in the Avengers Tower.

"What in the hell has happened to my life?..."

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a piece of paper. Looking at the elegant scrawl, she chewed on her lip. Her life was so crazy. Could she actually pretend to be normal? How long till she scared her off?

A few more minutes of internal debate, and she shouted, "Screw it!"

Snatching up her phone, she typed in the number and wrote up a quick message before hitting send. Holding the phone close, she felt her stomach do flips as her heart beat fast. She had no idea what would happen, or if Lori would even respond…

But when the telltale ping of her phone went off, she could not help the giddy smile that crossed her face.


End file.
